BANGKOK, Feb 12 — A woman died early today in southern Thailand after a gunman opened fire at the school where she was the director, local police told AFP.
Police shot and arrested the suspect, who local media identified as an 18-year-old man, yesterday after he entered the Phatong Prathan Khiriwat School with a gun, authorities said, adding several shots were fired.
“The school director passed away around 3am (today) in Hat Yai hospital after being sent for surgery,” an officer in the city of Hat Yai said.
“The shooter was also in this hospital for treatment,” added the policeman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The school shared its “deepest condolences on the passing of Director Sasiphat Sinsamosorn” in a Facebook post.
“Although we have lost her, the memories and kindness she left behind will forever remain in our hearts,” the post said.
A police officer in the city’s Thung Lung community also confirmed the school director had died.
A representative at the hospital declined to comment, citing privacy regulations.
A 14-year-old girl was also hospitalised with gunshot wounds and underwent surgery after the shooting, the ministry of public health said.
A second child suffered an ankle injury after they “fell from a height”, it added.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation — one for every seven inhabitants.
Past promises of tightening gun laws have not prevented repeated tragedies.
In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and knife stormed into a nursery in the country’s north and murdered 24 children and 12 adults, one of Thailand’s deadliest massacres. — AFP
